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FORGET was recorded during a period of epic productivity for Xiu Xiu. While writing FORGET, they released the lauded Plays the Music of Twin Peaks, collaborated with Mitski on a song for an upcoming John Cameron Mitchell film, composed music for art installations by Danh Vo, recorded an album with Merzbow and scored an experimental reworking of the Mozart opera, The Magic Flute. All of this frantic, external activity lead to a softly damaged dreaminess and broadened intent that has not been heard before in other Xiu Xiu works.

Standout track, "Wondering" is one of the catchiest boogie pop gems in the Xiu Xiu catalog, but like much of FORGET, it still bears an underlying tension that manifests differently in each piece. From the haunted guitar duet of "Petite", the hilariously fraught lyrics of "Get Up," the advanced industrial boxing match of "Jenny GoGo," or the experimental goth explosion of "Faith, Torn Apart," all the songs in their own way build to a roiling boil of a fate in vanishing.

The calligraphy on the cover translates literally to "we forget." It bows to the universality of everything and everyone's inevitable decline and foggy disappearance. Regarding the album title, Xiu Xiu singer Jamie Stewart said, "To forget uncontrollably embraces the duality of human frailty. It is a rebirth in blanked out renewal but it also drowns and mutilates our attempt to hold on to what is dear."FORGET is both the palliative fade out of a traumatic past but also the trampling pain of a beautiful one's decay.

"Their songs are slinky dark things that slither around the wheels of the occultish notions of culture and consumerism. They are punctuated by factory lines of repetition: washy industrial chops and cymbals; metal things. There is a snarl in McNeil's voice, a caveat that hisses at the recipient: don't come to close. The darkness is like a fishing hook: it's alluring. Even, sexy. But, come too close and it is dangerous. Caveat Emptor: you may just dance your way back into one of those corners that murders the light. " – Jonathan, Denver Syntax

Portland's Mattress centres on the claustrophobic bedroom soul of weirdo Rex Marshall and his synthesiser. But on Heavy Duty, his debut full-length for Edmonton's Reluctant Recordings, his minimal, dark electro beats take a backseat to his sinister songwriting. Opener "Pollution" sets the tone with its eerie sounds and hopeless lyrics, while "Go Ahead and Litter" almost gets dance-y, with its dead funk guitar drone. The real gem is closing track "Bring It Down," with its heavy synths and melodic singing, showing a little heart amidst the creepiness. Limited to 300 and featuring shiny artwork courtesy of the Doers' Sean Maxey, this is a rare treat in outsider pop.
- Heavy Duty By Josiah Hughes/Exclaim Magazine (Canada